FAQs and reasons to join our family

Do I need to be a UK resident to work for PizzaExpress?

If you’re eligible to work in the UK and can provide evidence of this, you could work with us. The same goes if you’d like to apply for a role at our Milano restaurants in Ireland – you’ll need to be eligible to work in the Republic of Ireland and have proof of this. Just bring this along with you at interview stage. If you can’t bring the evidence with you, we might have to postpone your interview until you can.

How can I apply for a role?

All of our roles are advertised online through the careers section of our website. Keep in mind that we will only accept applications made through our online recruitment system – we won’t accept paper-based applications. Also, because we offer so many different roles, we won’t be able to accept CVs sent to us speculatively. It’s better to find a role you like the look of, and apply for that directly.

When will I know whether or not I have been successful in my application?

Once you’ve submitted your application, we’ll acknowledge it by email. We’ll then be in touch within about 2 weeks to let you know whether or not you’ve been successful.

I’ve seen a new restaurant opening near me. How can I apply?

You can find full details of all new restaurant openings in the Planned restaurants section of our website – together with links to any vacancies in those locations. We usually start recruiting about 12 weeks before opening.

How can I prepare for my interview?

This will depend on the role you’re applying for. But don’t worry, the talent team or hiring manager will brief you when they arrange your appointment. As a general guideline, it works in your favour to have a good understanding of the role you’re applying for and to have familiarised yourself with the PizzaExpress / Milano brand.

To help you do this, there’s a wealth of information on our main website and on our social media pages. Take a look through that. It would also help if you’ve visited one of our restaurants fairly recently so you can be in a position to talk with authority about what you observed (and ate). Ultimately, we’re looking for people who know who we are, what we’re about and what food we sell – and who want to be a part of that!

How do I know that my application will be considered fairly?

We strongly appreciate the variety of backgrounds out there and the richness this brings to our restaurants and operations – and aim to fairly assess every single application on its merits.

We also have a policy of giving everyone equal opportunities in recruitment, training, promotion and other decisions relating to the business (including allocation of shifts). It doesn’t matter what race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability an employee might have or be. We’re only interested in aptitude and abilities in relation to the requirements of each job.

Do you accept speculative CVs from agencies or recruiters?

Unfortunately we don’t. For both PizzaExpress and Milano Team Member roles, we never use recruitment agencies.

For each of our management and support business areas, we have a preferred supplier list of recruitment agencies and we only work with them. All applications must be submitted through our online portal and can only be done if the agency is an approved supplier that we have agreed terms of business with. Please don’t send us any speculative CVs as we cannot accept them, and will not process any invoices as a result of speculative approaches.

Do I need any particular qualifications?

No, in the main we don’t require any particular qualifications, especially our restaurant roles where customer-facing experience, great communication skills and genuine passion for our brand and product is more important. However, some of our Support Centre roles may require technical qualifications such as ACCA or CIPD, if, for example, you’re applying for some roles within our Finance or HR departments. To be sure, check each job’s requirements.

Do I need to have previous experience as a manager?

Not necessarily. It depends on which role you’re applying for. Also, our recruitment process will identify if people are suited to the role. If you’re applying for a Restaurant Manager role, we would like you to have previous management experience. Similarly, if you’re interested in an Operations Manager role, we’d like to see previous multi-site management experience.

What kind of shifts will I be working?

Most of our restaurants are open from about 11am to 11pm – so we need people to work across these times, including pre-opening and post-closing. Each vacancy will require you to be available at different times, something which you can discuss at your interview. For Restaurant Management jobs, you’ll be needed across the whole week and will normally work 5 days out of 7. This will include weekends, early mornings and evenings, as and when required.

How many hours will I work?

Our Management work an average of 45 hours per week. Most of our Team Member roles are part time and if you’d like to work extra hours, you will have the opportunity to do so. Our Support Centre team members, on average, work 40 hours per week.

What will I need to wear?

If you’re a Team Member we’ll give you a uniform that could change from time to time. In the main this will be a PizzaExpress top that you will wear with your own trousers. If you’re joining us as a Pizzaiolo (Chef), we’ll give you a full uniform. If you join us as a Manager, you don’t need to wear a uniform. You just need to dress smartly and professionally. We like everyone to follow certain hygiene and appearance rules, which you can find out about at interview.

Do you offer work placements or internships?

Yes, we offer placements – but not internships. We have an Undergraduate scheme for students on a Business or Hospitality degree with a 12-month industry placement.

Diversity in our family

We're passionate about lots of things; amazing food and creating great customer experiences are just two things that spring to mind, but something of particularly great importance to us is diversity. Our Equal Opportunities policy reflects our commitment to treating all of our fantastic teams and potential teams equally. We work hard to ensure no member of our team across our business, or job applicant, receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sexual orientation, religion or belief, or because someone is married or in a civil partnership. Our family means the world to us and it's vital that no one is discriminated against. It's all part of our vision to have a world made happier by pizza.

Where will I be working when I start with PizzaExpress?

Our Team Member roles are advertised for specific restaurants so you would be working in the restaurant you have applied for. Sometimes our Management roles don’t specify a location. You can discuss this at interview. Keep in mind, your initial induction may take place at a different restaurant location to the one you’ll be working in – but will normally take place near your home. If you’re applying for a Support Centre role, our offices are in London and Uxbridge. Our bakery is in Witney, Oxfordshire.

Are there opportunities to work for PizzaExpress outside of the UK?

Yes there are. You could work for our Milano restaurants in the Republic of Ireland. But remember, you need to be eligible to work in Ireland. If you are, you can apply through our Milano careers section.

Most of our other international restaurants are operated by franchisees and you’ll need to get in touch with them to apply directly. You can find the relevant contact details in the International restaurants section. Any vacancies in international restaurants that we operate, we’ll advertise in our careers section.

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